Additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies enable computer designs, such as CAD files, to be made into three-dimensional (“3D”) objects. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, typically comprises depositing, curing, fusing, or otherwise forming a material into sequential cross-sectional layers of the 3D object. Fused deposition modeling techniques include melting a filament of build material and extruding the print material out of a dispenser that is moved in the x-, y-1 and z-axes relative to a print pad. The raw material is generally deposited in layers in the x- and y-axes to form cross-sectional layers that are stacked along the z-axis to form the 3D object.
Three-dimensional printing of physical models has proven useful in a wide variety of settings. Some potential uses include production of anatomical bodies like bones for research and clinical applications, medical product development, machine design and equipment design, to name just a few. 3D printing or rapid prototyping refers to a collection of technologies for producing physical parts directly from digital descriptions.
Digital descriptions include output of any software that produces a 3D digital model. One example of such software is Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software. Creating a 3D digital model from a 3D image data set requires specialized imaging or CAD software. Rapid prototyping machines have been commercially available since the early 1990's, the most popular versions of which employ a liquid or a powder to build a desired structure by adding building material layer-by-layer based on a digital three-dimensional model of the structure.
Conventionally to date, one equates 3D printing materials with being liquid or particle plastic, resin or metal. There is, however, a desire to use “natural” materials with a unique aesthetic. For example, VOXELJET, a company that provides high-speed, large-format 3-D printers is developing new material sets, including additional sands, ceramics, cement and wood powder. VOXELJET'S printers use powder binding technology, which involves chemical binding agents used to bind together the material being printed.